The Shadow War
by Kidtroop
Summary: Everyone knows the story of the Dovahkiin and his battle with Alduin. But what about all the other people who helped him? This is the story of the people, beasts, and mer that helped him do what he had to do. And he couldn't have done it without them. (Sorry for the terrible summary, this is my first fic so please review and tell me what I did wrong. Rating may increase.)


Chapter 1: Helgen

Hey guys this is my first fic so please forgive me if I seem to be lacking anywhere. I hope you like it!

**Damien and Silana**

"How are you doing?" the man said. "Okay" Came the reply from the young girl. "You sure?" He asked again, concern clear in his voice. "This isn't like you Silana" The little girl, Silana looked up, "because I'm scared Damien. Damien put his hand on her shoulder "now why would you be scared?" he asked. "Because… because I'm worried about you." "Why would you be worried about me?" Damien asked. "Because of what happened yesterday."

_"Stay behind me Silana!" Damien yelled frantically. "I won't let it hurt you!" Silana crept backward putting her back to a tree. Fear was evident in her eyes._ "_I won't let it hurt you" Damien said again more to himself this time. A bone chilling roar filled the air. The bear took a couple more steps towards its prey. Damien drew his sword cursing himself for not bringing a bow. The bear broke into a run its jaws open with excitement. Damien sidestepped the bear and swung his sword downward into its back. The sword ripped the flesh and blood poured from the wound. This only enraged the bear further as it turned swinging its claw. It caught Damien on his left arm. He exclaimed in pain and fell to one knee before being snapped back into reality by the sound he dreaded the most. "DAMIEN!" Damien's head snapped up as the bear was closing in on Silana. "NO!" Damien yelled and got to his feet, all pain forgotten and he ran. As he got closer to the bear he was only aware of two things. Silana and whatever was going to hurt her. He caught up to the bear and jumped on its back. Another roar came from the beast as it shook violently trying to rid itself of this pest. Damien fell and scrambled for his fallen sword. The bear turned back on him and approached the form on the ground, ready to make a meal of him. Damien grabbed the sword and thrusted hoping to hit something important. He did. He jammed the sword straight through the bear's skull. The bear fell on its side, sword still embedded in its head. Damien slowly got to his feet and Silana came running and wrapped her arms around him. Damien returned the hug in force. "See" he said showing a smile "told you I wouldn't let it hurt you."_

The memory made Damien uneasy. "Yeah, what about yesterday?" Silana chimed in "You're still hurt and it's all my fault." Damien was surprised "It wasn't your fault. Were you controlling that bear? No? Just as I thought. It attacked us and I messed up. Simple as that okay?" Silana looked slightly taken aback but nodded. "Okay Damien, I'm sorry." Silana said. Don't apologize. I'm gonna go grab some food. Anything you want?" "Can I have a sweetroll?" She asked excitement shining in her eyes. Damien couldn't help but laugh. "Sure you can kid."

The inn they were staying in was full of excitement and life. Damien went to the innkeeper, a female Breton with red hair. "What can I get you?" She asked cheerfully. Damien gave her a smile "one sweetroll please." "Sure, this for that little one of yours?" "What? I don't look like I have a sweet tooth?" They shared a laugh and Damien thanked her and gave her the coin for the food. As he was walking back to the room however he overheard something very interesting.

"Didja hear? Some Stormcloak prisoners are being brought in to be executed." Another voice chimed in "Really? Why here?" The first voice came back" not sure maybe we were just close. I don't know but I'm looking forward to seeing those traitors die." Damien turned back to his room. He didn't care much for the war. He just wanted it to be over so Silana could be safe. He went back to the room to find Silana sitting on the bed. "Here you go" he said and gave her the sweetroll. "Yay! Thanks Damien." "It was no problem enjoy it" Some noise came from outside. It sounded like someone yelled…. guards. Damien was confused. "What's going on out there?" Damien said to no one in particular. "Beats me, let's go find out." Silana said and bolted for the door. "Hey wait!" Damien caught her by the arm and pulled her back, "you're staying here." "Awe what?" Came the disappointed response. "Sorry, could be dangerous, I can't risk it. I'll be back soon. Promise. Why don't you go talk to the innkeeper she seemed nice." "Okay but hurry up." Damien nodded and smiled.

Damien went outside and was greeted by numerous imperial soldiers. Looks like the rumors were right. He looked up the road and was surprised by what he saw. A man, face down in the dirt with arrows embedded in his back. "Maybe that's what I heard before" Damien thought to himself. He looked in the opposite direction and saw the Stormcloak prisoners mentioned by the man in the inn. Two prisoners caught his eye. One Nord with long brownish hair and a gag. He must be important if he was shut up by the imperials. He was also in a thick black fur coat. He stood out among the rest for sure. The other was a Kajhiit. He had light grey fur and was in a ragged tunic. He was looking rather downtrodden and Damien couldn't blame him. He _was_ about to be executed. Why was he there though? I don't think a Kajhiit would join the Stormcloaks. And he wasn't wearing the armor the rest of them were. He obviously didn't belong. A redheaded Stormcloak stepped up to the chopping block. Damien couldn't hear much but within a couple seconds he had his head on the block. The headsman lifted his axe and with a sickening crunch it was over. Something else was said and the Kajhiit stepped forward.

"Sorry cat." Damien said to himself. A roar sounded off from the distance. Everyone looked around confused but got over it soon enough. The Kajhiit was shoved onto the block and the roar came again. Louder this time. Damien was unnerved now. What is that? As the headsman lifted his axe something landed on the tower above them. Something no one expected.

A dragon, huge, and black as night had perched on the tower. It let out a roar and some kind of…. energy. Whatever it was it had an effect on the men on the ground. They all stumbled or fell over. The cat rolled off the block and struggled to get to his feet. His hands were bound. It was… pitiful to watch. Finally one of the Stormcloaks ran over to him and helped him up. "Good" thought Damien. Then he realized what he had to do.

Damien ran back into the inn and grabbed Silana "this is gonna sound crazy but you have to trust me okay?" Silana nodded. "There's… there's a dragon out there." Silana stared at him for a second as if questioning his sanity then said "you're serious aren't you?" Damien could only nod and hope his face told the truth. "Then what are we waiting for let's get out of here!"

Damien ran back to their room and grabbed the few things he had. His bow, the few arrows he's gathered, his longsword, and his dagger. He slung the bow and quiver over his shoulder, put his sword on his waist and stuck his dagger in his boot sheath. Silana saw him gearing up and Damien could tell she was uneasy. "Don't worry; I'm not planning on using them." "Then why take them?" Came the slightly spiteful tone. "Just in case" Damien told her.

The duo exited the inn to find the village being ravaged by the dragon. Fire spread over the thatched roofs of the village until Helgen was no more than a blaze. The dragon circled overhead burning building, villager, and soldier alike. Its scales seemed to shine in the sunlight. It was a marvelous animal if it wasn't so destructive. Damien took Silana's hand and they ran down the path only to find the way blocked by flaming debris. "Great" Damien sighed. "Over there!" Silana said, pointing at one of the towers. Damien nodded and they ran toward their new destination. Once inside they ran for the stairs. The path was blocked by debris but there was a giant hole in the tower. Damien cast a glance out of it and saw a building underneath that was missing the roof. Most likely burned away. Damien looked back at Silana and said "you trust me right?" Yeah of course I do… why?" "We have to jump" Came Damien's response. "Are you crazy?" Silana exclaimed. "Thought you trusted me?" came the sarcastic reply from Damien. "I'll go first and I'll break your fall." Silana nodded. Damien took a few steps back, ran, and leapt.

He rolled when he hit the ground and got up to meet the flames that were slowly engulfing the building. "Jump you'll be fine!" Damien yelled up. With a "Geronimo!" Silana followed. She hit the floor hard and stumbled into Damien's arms. His face was darkened with soot but you could still see the determination in his icy blue eyes. "Let's go." Damien said and Silana followed without question. The stairs had burned away so they had no choice but to drop down again. This jump was nowhere near as bad as the other and they both landed with ease. Once outside they saw two people, a man and a child. They were waiting near the walls just trying to survive most likely.

"Is there a way out of here?" Damien asked. "I'm… I'm not sure." The old man replied. He seemed old and the flames and smoke weren't helping. "Are you two okay here?" was Damien's next question. "Yes we'll just sit here until the soldiers come" "Are you sure?" He just nodded. It might've been all he could do. Damien and Silana turned to walk back down the path only to find that this one was blocked with debris too. Damien searched frantically for another route. The smoke was starting to have an effect on Silana and he would be damned if he let Silana fall to the flames.

Finally he saw a path behind a house and without hesitation led Silana down it. With a loud crash the dragon landed on the wall behind them. "_Zu'u Vulom!"_ Damien pressed his back to the wall hoping to remain unnoticed and Silana followed suit. It seemed the dragon actually… spoke. This confused Damien but he disregarded the thought quickly. He had to focus on getting Silana out of there. _"Yol Toor Shul!" _Flames erupted from the dragon's maw and torched a nearby imperial archer. His screams of pain unnerved Damien and Silana covered her ears. The dragon took off again to terrorize some other part of the village and Damien saw his opportunity. He and Silana started running again until they came to a group of imperial soldiers. Mages and archers made up the group shooting fireballs and arrows alike. Damien ran to one archer and said "There's a man and a kid back there." He said gesturing back to the man he talked to earlier. "Yeah I'll check it out" said the archer and took off. Damien was glad he could help.

He led Silana toward what others were saying was the keep. Maybe there would be a way out through there. They reached the door and Silana ran inside. Damien took one look back at the destroyed village. The flames spreading everywhere, the beast that still flew over the village torching everything in sight, and the bodies. The charred bodies of the soldiers and villagers would haunt him forever. After that Damien ran into the keep to find Silana.

They were in a large stone chamber with a few flags flying the imperial emblem on the walls. There was one desk in the room and a body wearing stormcloak armor next to it. Damien inspected it to find a blade wound in his stomach. Damien closed his eyes out of respect and turned to face Silana. She said "the door over there is locked. Any idea where we can find a key?" Damien was about to respond when he heard footsteps coming from the other hall. He looked at Silana and said "hide!" She nodded and ducked under the desk. "Good enough I guess" Damien thought. He wasn't sure who was coming and he wasn't sure how they would respond to him being here, but he was ready. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword as two imperial soldiers came to the gate.

"What are you doing here?" the one in heavy steel armor asked. Damien assumed she was in charge. "Just trying to get out of here in one piece." Damien answered back. The other soldier whispered something in her ear and she nodded. Damien could only guess at what he said. "Did he see Silana?" Damien thought. The soldiers drew their weapons, two swords and unlocked the gate. "Die prisoner!"

Damien dodged to the side "I'm not a prisoner. I swear!" The soldier's only response was another strike from his sword. Damien dodged again and drew his own blade. "So be it" Damien blocked a blow from the captain and pushed her away turning to counter the other soldier. Damien blocked his strike and punched him with his free hand. Pain shot through his arm from his earlier wound from the bear. As the soldier stumbled backward Damien ran him through with his blade. The soldier fell and Damien turned to face the captain. "You bastard!" she said through clenched teeth. She charged at Damien sword raised. Damien blocked and gave a horizontal swipe in return. She jumped back to dodge and swung again however her rage made her sloppy. Damien was easily able to parry her attack and swing again. The sword made direct contact with her breastplate and the blade slid off the armor. "Damn" Damien cursed to himself. The soldier swung again and Damien dodged searching for a weak point. There was a small space where the armor didn't cover her neck. He saw his opening. Damien knocked the soldier's sword away and swung hard toward the opening. The blade made contact and lopped her head clean off.

Damien was sickened by what he did but he had to stay strong, for Silana. She tentatively crawled out from under her table. Damien got on one knee and took the keys from the soldier's belt. "Here" he said, tossing them to Silana. She went over and unlocked the door looking ahead eagerly. Damien was ready to continue when he stopped. Someone was behind them. "Going somewhere friend?"

Dragon Language Translation: Yol Toor Shul- (Fire, Inferno, Sun) The shout for fire breath in the game that's just what it means

Zu'u Vulom- (I am darkness)

So yeah there we go. Hope you liked it. If you have anything to say please say it. i appreciate reviews good or bad. Also tell me if you think i should make my chapters longer or keep them like this. I'm really not sure. Thanks for reading!


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